


Gift

by alistoney



Series: Flash Bang Bingo (team orange) [20]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fluff, High School AU, M/M, Project Partners, book nerd alec, lots of references to books, scientist izzy, scientist magnus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 02:09:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14486502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alistoney/pseuds/alistoney
Summary: While Magnus is insanely smart, he is also insanely hot and Alec doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to spend time alone with him without spontaneously combustingOr the one where Alec is partnered with his crush for a school projectFor the Sh Hiatus Flash Bang BingoSquare: Project Partners





	Gift

**Author's Note:**

> This didn’t end up going anywhere close to how I’d planned but I like it so I hope you like it too

Alec looks up from his book for the first time the entire class period when he feels Jace nudge his shoulder.

He hears the end of Mrs. Herondale’s sentence and almost groans out loud.

“-Alec Lightwood, you’re with Magnus Bane.”

He sees Magnus send him a smile from across the room and Alec musters up one in return.

Of _course_ he’d be partnered with Magnus Bane. Magnus Bane, number one in their class, on his way to becoming valedictorian. Of course he’s partnered with the person his mother keeps pushing him to beat for the top spot in their class.

That isn’t the reason why Alec is dreading this though. The _bigger_ reason is that while Magnus is insanely smart, he is also insanely hot and Alec doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to spend time alone with him without spontaneously combusting.

When the bell rings signaling the end of class, Magnus is suddenly standing in front of Alec’s desk and Alec has to try very hard not to let his eyes linger on the way his bicep strains against his button up as he waves at him.

“Hey,” Magnus says with a small smile.

“Hi.” Alec answers dumbly, because he’s an idiot who doesn’t know how to hold a conversation. He’s pathetic.

“When are you free to work on the project? We have 2 weeks so it doesn’t have to be super soon or anything but I thought figuring out a time sooner that later was a good idea.”

Alec pulls himself out of his internal pity party long enough to nod.

“I, um, I’m free tomorrow after school if that works?”

Alec watches Magnus’ eyes light up and can’t help but smile at the sight.

“Perfect! Let me give you my number so we can work the details out.”

Alec watches in a daze as Magnus takes his phone and types in his number with long graceful fingers.

He hands the phone back to Alec, and then, to his surprise, he taps the cover of the book Alec had been reading and smiles.

“ _The Scarlet Letter_. Good book,” is all he says, and then he’s gone.

***   
The next day Alec waits by the front entrance to the school trying his best not to pace.

He’s opened his phone multiple times to thumb to his messages and look at the texts he and Magnus exchanged where they’d agreed to work at Alec’s house.

It’s a perfectly boring conversation but Alec can’t help but feel a giddiness rise in his chest at the fact that he has Magnus Bane’s number, right there in his phone. He can text him whatever he wants. _Whenever_ he wants.

Not that he’s going to. But now he has the _option_.

He jumps slightly when he feels a hand on his shoulder and he hastily shoves his phone back into his pocket.

When he turns to look at who spooked him he finds that it’s Izzy.

She’s looking quizzically between Alec’s face and the pocket that his phone is stuffed into. Alec has to try very hard to suppress the blush that wants to make its way to his cheeks.

Thankfully Izzy doesn’t question him about it. Instead, she places a soft hand on his arm and gives him a smile.

“You don’t have to wait up for me, I told you this morning, I have to stay after. I have to collect the last of the data for my project.”

Alec grins fondly at her. Izzy’s science fair project had been chosen for the national competition and she’d been working on it for months. He’s extraordinarily proud of her.

“I know Iz, you’ve been talking about the last day of data collection for the last week.”

Izzy’s brow furrows in a look that Alec knows can only spell trouble for him.

“Then why are you waiting? Jace has practice and-“

She cuts herself off when she sees Magnus walk up to them. He sends Alec a smile that makes him have to try very hard not to swoon and Izzy’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Ready?” Magnus asks, and Alec would almost laugh at the look Izzy is giving him over Magnus’ shoulder if he didn’t know that he would definitely be getting interrogated by her tonight.

He sees her mouth something akin to I want to know everything and sends her a glare. Magnus seems to notice their unspoken conversation and turns to look at Izzy.

“Isabelle,” he says with a familiar grins and pulls her to his side for a one armed hug.

Magnus and Izzy are both well loved by the chemistry department and thus spend a lot of time together. Something Alec is more jealous of than he’d like to admit.

“I hope you don’t mind me borrowing your brother for a few hours?”

Izzy sends Alec a mischievous grin and Alec curses the day he ended up telling her about his little infatuation with Magnus.

“Oh I don’t mind at _all_.”

***

When they reach the Lightwood residence, Alec throws the door open and sets his keys on the table by the door.

Magnus whistles under her breath and Alec watches his eyes drift around the house as they walk further inside.

“When people say you’re loaded, they really aren’t kidding.”

Alec doesn’t know how to reply to that. He’s never been comfortable with the amount of money his family has or the way that they flaunt it.

He gestures to the stairs instead.

When they walk into Alec’s room and he sets his bag by his desk he suddenly feels nervous. He’s never really had a boy that he likes in his room before. It feels oddly intimate, even if they are only going to work on a project.

“My parents won’t be home till late and my little brother Max is still at school so we’ve got the place to ourselves,” he says to distract himself from the fact that Magnus Bane is standing right here in his room, eyes roaming over his piles of books and the pictures on his walls.

The silence puts him on edge so he keeps talking.

“It’s probably a good thing my parents aren’t here to be honest.”

Magnus quirks an eyebrow in question.

“They kind of hate you for being number one in our class when they’ve groomed me to be valedictorian basically since I was born.”

He sees Magnus’ face fall and internally cringes. Why doesn’t he know when to shut the fuck up?

“I don’t care.” He says quickly, “You’re brilliant. If I had to choose anyone to beat me it would be you.”

He blushes as he says the words and curses the fact that he’s absolutely pathetic at talking to Magnus without making a fool out of himself.

To his relief, Magnus just smiles and gestures to the stacks of books littered around Alec’s room.

“You’ve got quite the collection going here.”

Alec smiles. _Books_ he can talk about.

“Yeah, I’m kind of obsessed I guess.”

Magnus tilts his head at Alec consideringly and Alec has to fight back a blush.

“And you’re reading _The Scarlet Letter_ right now.”

He says it as a statement but Alec feels compelled to answer him anyway.

“Yeah. This is my fourth read actually. I was reading _The Handmaid's Tale_ but Mrs. Herondale took it from me in class last week when she caught me reading and still hasn’t given it back.”

Alec lets out a sigh and flops backwards onto his bed. He had been extremely intrigued by the book and is still bitter about not getting it back by now.

He’s pulled out of his mourning over the book when Magnus laughs from where he’s still standing in the center of the room.

“I’m surprised. I didn’t take you as the dramatic type.”

Alec feels his cheeks flush and is glad that Magnus can’t see his face.

He sits up in the bed and looks up at Magnus, a surge of courage washing through him. Maybe it’s the fact that Magnus is talking to him about books, the one thing that he's confident talking about . Or maybe it’s just Magnus being Magnus.

Either way, Alec uses the courage to arch an eyebrow at Magnus, looking at him through his eyelashes with a smirk.

“Good surprised, I hope?.”

Magnus eyes widen as if he hadn’t expected that to be Alec’s reaction. To be honest Alec hadn’t expected it either.

Magnus stares for a second before he walks further into the room and sits down next to Alec on the bed.

Alec holds his breath and Magnus leans into his space a tiny bit closer than would be considered normal.

“ _Definitely_ good.”

***  
“Done!” Magnus exclaims from where he’s perched on Alec’s desk chair, laptop in hand, “we just need to write the conclusion and this project is officially finished!”

He’s grinning at Alec with excited eyes but Alec can’t help but be disappointed.

Once Alec’s nerves over working with Magnus had subsided, the two of them ended up working pretty well as a team.

Magnus has an abundance of creative ideas and Alec is surprisingly good at playing off of him with ideas of his own.

They met every day after school to work on the project and Magnus would end up staying till late at night. Often because they’d end up gathering Izzy, Jace, and Max into the car to get ice cream from a store nearby and then returning to watch Netflix in Alec’s room, Magnus’ head on Alec’s chest and Alec’s arm around his shoulders.

Alec has come to love those nights much more than he’d like to admit. He doesn’t want it to end.

Apparently, Magnus can pick up on his moods now because he gets up from the desk and moves closer to the bed where Alec is sitting.

“Hey, don’t look so disappointed, I’m not going to stop hanging out with you now that this project is done,” he raises his eyebrows and looks at Alec with serious eyes, “I _like_ you, I _like_ spending time with you.”

Alec can only smile at the reassurance. The disappointment starting to fade a little.

“I also have a present for you,” Magnus continues, turning to his backpack and rifling through it.

Alec’s feels his eyes widen and he watches as something soft blooms in Magnus’ eyes.

“You-what?”

Alec is at a loss for words and the smile on Magnus’ face doesn’t make it any easier for him to try and formulate a coherent sentence.

“I have a present,” he holds out a bag to Alec and tilts his head in a way that should not be adorable but it is, “for _you_.”

Alec stands from the bed and takes the bag from Magnus, holding his breath as their fingers brush for a second.

Alec takes the object out of the bag and his breath completely leaves his lungs for a second.

When he looks back at Magnus he’s staring at him with a self satisfied smile playing on his lips.

“You bought me _The Handmaid’s Tale_ ,” Alec lets out on an exhale.

“You looked bummed when you told me you couldn’t read,” Magnus leans in close, conspiratorially, “ _And_ , I may have caught you looking at it longingly during class once or twice, so I thought you might like it.”

Magnus shrugs as if the gesture is nothing special. Alec is still staring wide eyed. That conversation was almost 2 weeks ago and they hadn’t talked about it since. And yet, Magnus remembered. He _noticed_ that Alec missed the book.

“Thank you.” Alec says with a small smile as he flips the book open to look for the page he had been on.

He freezes when he sees a familiar orange post-it.

This is _his_ copy of _The Handmaid's Tale_. Magnus didn’t just buy him a new one, he retrieved his old one with all his notes and post-its in it.

“How did you get this?” He asks and Magnus gives him a glittering wink.

“Clary _may_ have distracted Mrs. Herondale while I went and stole it.”

Alec laughs at the smirk on Magnus face and feels his heart warm.

“You risked the wrath of Mrs. Herondale for _me_?” He grins, in between laughs.

Magnus’ smirk softens into something more genuine as he nods at Alec.

“For you I’d risk a lot more,” he says, taking a step closer to Alec. Alec can feel the warmth radiating off Magnus’ body at this proximity.

He looks even more beautiful up close. Eyes shining, but serious. Dark lashes sweeping over his cheekbones as he blinks.

“I could kiss you right now,” Alec says without really thinking about it.

His eyes widen when he realizes what he’s said and he almost takes a step backwards in panic. Magnus’ hands on his waist stop him and he turns his gaze back to Magnus’ face, eyes wide.

“I definitely wouldn’t object to that.”

Alec watches wide eyed as Magnus moves a hand to his cheek and cups it.

“What?” He asks dumbly and Magnus rolls his eyes.

“I wouldn't object to you kissing me.” Magnus says again, and Alec’s brain short circuits.

Because _what?_

“I-you-what?” he sputters out, “You, Magnus Bane? Want to kiss _me_?”

“Yes, you dork.”

Alec doesn't think he’s been more surprised in his life.

“Oh my god.”

He doesn’t get a chance to say anything else because lips are pressed against his and he loses his breath for the second time since Magnus had handed him the book.

Magnus’ lips are soft as they slide against his and he tastes vaguely of coffee. Alec smiles into the kiss and feels Magnus laugh into his mouth as his arm winds around his waist.

When they pull apart Alec laughs softly.

“My mother will _not_ be happy I just kissed the competition.”

Magnus slaps his chest.

“I can’t believe you’re thinking about your mother when I just kissed you,” Magnus says teasingly, eyes alight with mischief that makes all of Alec’s nerves surge with giddiness.

“Guess I’ll have to try again,” Alec says with a blinding grin and pulls Magnus in again.

 

**Author's Note:**

> The books referenced are just my favorite books that I read for school so if you want to come talk to me about them please do! 
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated! 
> 
> Hit me up on tumblr[@lightwormsiblings](https://lightwormsiblings.tumblr.com)


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